I am currently using Yahoo! mail which is OK but I am missing the Archive function that GMail has. It would be nice to send these remaining 33 email items to an archive thus hiding it from my inbox view. Instead with Yahoo! mail I must create my own Archive folder and move the items there. I think the GMail labeling system is a bit cleaner and more user friendly.

I also have a Hotmail account which I don't use at all. I looked at the interface today and I don't like that application much either. It looked a bit better before the latest update in my opinion. The hotmail account I use specifically for my MSDN subscription, MCP account profile and MSN IM only. I don't think I've ever sent an email from this account. I should take a good look at Hotmail though to see if it has better features than Yahoo! mail. I've noticed some service interruptions lately from Yahoo! mail and I'm getting a bit frustrated.

Of the three email accounts the primary is Yahoo! mail, but I am thinking I may switch over to use the GMail account as the primary. One reason is that the Yahoo! mail is tied to my DSL subcriptions. If I ever decide to switch to another internet provider I'm going to have to update all my contacts which use this account and that would be a pain. GMail seems to operate much faster too and I can hook it up to my iPhone using IMAP which is nice.

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Samsung offers two Blu-ray player models which support Netflix streaming, the BD-P2500 and the BD-P2550. LG offers the BD300. The Samsung models appear to also provide the ability to stream music from Pandora.

Ever since The Death of HD-DVD I've been waiting to replace or supplement my HD-DVD player with a Blu-ray player. One of the above models may make it under the Christmas tree this year.

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1. The Death of HD DVD: A Bunch of Burned Consumers

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The next question was do I need hibernation mode? There are two power saving modes (three if you count Shut down): Hibernate and Stand by. As mentioned above hibernation mode saves memory contents to disk, then power downs system components into low-power mode similiar to Stand by mode and can even safely shut down completely. Stand by mode does not persist memory contents to disk, all active programs and unsaved work remains in RAM and then powers down system components ( hard disk, monitor, etc)  into low-power mode. All data remains in memory as long as the system has some power. Which means, if your laptop battery dies while in Stand by mode, you're going to lose any unsaved work.

If you decide you would like to disable hibernation mode here are the steps:

1. Open the Control Panel. ( Start -> Settings -> Control Panel )
2. Double click the Power Options Icon.
3. Click the Hibernate tab.
4. Uncheck the Enable hibernation check box.
5. Click the Apply button.

You've just disabled hibernation mode on your system. You may need to restart your system for the hiberfil.sys file to be removed. In my case, it disappeared immediately.

Two benefits of disabling hibernation mode:

1. I regained much needed hard disk space. The hibernation file is the same size as installed RAM.
2. My system comes out of Stand by mode much, much faster than hibernation mode. I sometimes had to wait 10-15 minutes for my machine to come out of hibernate mode. It was very frustrating.

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I recently picked up David Bach's new book Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying. In his books he list "50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth". Most of the items he list are very simple. In fact, I was glad to see that I had already implemented many of the items he listed on my own. Here's are a few things I've done:

1. Switched to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFL) - I changed most the bulbs in the house to CFL's, except the two decorative lamps which have exposed bulbs and are rarely turned on and the dimmable chandelier because the dimmable CFL's are really expensive. WalMart or Costco are great places to pick these up cheap. Reduce energy consumption and save a little money on your electric bill while doing it.
2. Went paperless - I signed up to receive all bank statements and billing notices electronically and pay my bills online. This significantly reduced the amount of paper coming in my mail box, reduced clutter around the house, and I save money on stamps.
3. Reduced Incoming Junk Mail - I opted out of receiving junk mail by calling 888-5OptOut. I also went to www.optoutprescreen.com and opted out from receiving firm credit offers for five years. I couldn't believe how many credit card offers I'd been receiving! Reduced junk mail equals less waste.
4. Recycle - We recycle all our glass, plastic and aluminum. I am still guilty of buying bottled water, but we are considering switching to a water filtration system.
5. Bring Our Own Bags - We purchased some reusable grocery bags from Safeway and keep them in the car. Have you ever noticed how inefficiently the baggers pack groceries at the stores? One bag, two items, it's ridiculous. If you give them three or four reusable bags they somehow find a way to get all that stuff in those three or four bags.
6. Buy Recycled Products - We buy recycled paper products such as paper towels, napkins and toilet paper.
7. Conserve water - I fixed the leaky faucets in the house and try not to leave the water running while I brush my teeth or shave. I also take short showers and have installed a low-flow shower head.
8. Turn Off the Lights - I make a real effort to turn off lights when I leave a room.
9. Locate E-Waste Recycling Center - Being a computer guy I find myself with old computers, monitors, hard drives, cell phones and other outdated electronic devices containing led and other toxic materials that need to be disposed of properly. Here are a couple of web sites I've found to locate e-waste recycling centers in my area:
   1. eRecycle.org
   2. Contra Costa County Waste Reduction & Recycling
   3. noEwaste.com
10. Energy Star - All the appliances in the house are Energy Star compliant and we have a high-efficiency washer which uses significantly less water and energy than a traditional washer. When you need to replace an appliance make sure it's Energy Star rated.
11. Conservative with the A/C - We have an air-conditioner, it's a luxury, and I treat it that way. Our two story unit is usually hot upstairs and stays fairly cool downstairs which means I can wait till after peak hours to turn on the A/C and cool down the upstairs before going to bed. The downstairs can be cooled fairly easy just by opening the windows.
12. Telecommute - I try to work from home at least one day per week, if not two. Being a Software Engineer this is feasible in my line of work, but not an option for many. No commute, no lost time and no cost.
13. Ride BART - When I do go into the office, I ride Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). However, I am guilty of driving my gas-guzzling SUV five or six miles to the BART station. Utilize public transportation when you can.

I just listed over a dozen things that have had little or no inconvenience in my life but do have a positive impact on the environment. These are all simple actions everyone can participate in with minimal extra work, and require only a decision to start.  Take some time to educate yourself on the topics and decide what you can change in your household and daily activities to help make a difference.

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We started our trip at 7:30 a.m. departing from the park entry at Regency Drive and following the Donner Creek fire road. I won't repeat the directions of the trail, but you can find more information about the hike here and a map of the trails here. Hiking during this time of year the trails are a bit muddy so I would suggest a mid-height hiking boot to provide some ankle support rather tennis shoes.

After a moderately steep inclination, the trail narrows from a wide fire road, to a small single-track trail and you begin to feel like you are really going somewhere. The elevation increases and some great views of the city of Clayton and the brushed covered areas below can be seen. At this point in the hike you can also hear the water from the creek below rushing by and see a glimpse of the falls as shown above. Continuing on the narrow trails takes you though some thickly covered areas where moss covers rocks and hillsides in a vivid greenish-yellow color. Ahead, the creek washes over the trail and this is the first place where you cross water on the hike. The creek is narrow and very shallow but adds some interest to the hike. We crossed the creek three times over the entire hike, some places the water is deeper and wider than others.

After crossing the creek and hiking over the hill about another 1/10 mile we come to another crossing which has the first water feature indicative of a water fall. A group of moss covered rocks which the creek washes over. Above this is another similar feature of a larger scale which I did not get pictures of. We stopped here for a bit to take some pictures, have a quick snack, and enjoy the scenery.

While we rested I realized that there is much more to Mt. Diablo than meets the eye from a distance. From far it doesn't look like much more than scrub brush and dirt. Once you get inside on the trails however I saw a lot more than I expected. I also realized that Mt. Diablo is a great place to train for longer hiking expeditions. While the Falls Trail loop is a moderate hike, there's a network of trails some of which I suspect can be quite strenuous.

After a short break we continued on to find the next fall. A short hike and we were there. For the size of the falls in Mt. Diablo this next fall is medium in size and has a small pool of water at the bottom. It's not grand in size but adds a lot of interest to the hike. We stopped here again to take some pictures. I noticed the wind had kicked up a bit and the temperature dropped in this area. It's best to be prepared with at least a light wind-breaker if you are going to take this hike. While you may remain warm while hiking, stopping to take pictures allows your body to cool off. I put my jacket back on at this point and kept it on for the remainder of the hike. We snapped a few pictures and carried on.

The next and final fall we came to is the largest of the falls viewable on this loop. I am not sure if this is the grand-daddy of all falls on Mt. Diablo but it is the largest of the ones we saw on our hike. Getting viewable access to this fall was a bit of work in itself. We had to climb up some very soft dirt on a steep incline to get up and over the creek and then navigate over wet, slippery rocks up the creek a bit to even see the fall. This is where having some nice lug soled boots comes in handy. Once there I stood on a steep face of soft dirt to get the picture to the right.

The fall is a long, and narrow fall that funnels water down a face of rock and into a shallow pool at the bottom. It's hard to capture the true experience of being there in a camera lens but this is worth seeing at least once if you plan to hike Mt. Diablo. For a back yard destination this is a great hike.

We stopped here for awhile, taking pictures and enjoying the scenery before heading out. We navigated back down the creek, and slid down the steep hillside to get back to the main trail. This point is the highlight of the hike, the last, and largest fall to encounter. I took my last look around and then continued ahead on the main trail. We are also at the highest elevation of the hike as well and I was glad to realize the remainder of the hike is mostly down hill. We still have about three miles of hiking ahead of us from this point.

Not having any more falls to take pictures of I began taking pictures of whatever flowers I encountered. I have no idea what these are but here's what I saw on this hike.

A couple more miles and we had finally made it back to the trail head. The entire hike took us about four hours, including the time we took to stop and take pictures. On our way out it was about 11 a.m. and we saw quite a few people just starting the hike. Many didn't even know where they were headed and I was surprised at how many I saw that seemed ill prepared for a hike, not even carrying water. Some I saw had two walking staffs and a full pack on. If you are going to take this hike I would recommend a minimal amount of gear. Here's what you should have:

1. Water - recommend 32 oz., minimum 16 oz.
2. Cell phone - In case of emergency.
3. Snack - energy bars, sandwich, etc.
4. Trail map
5. Mid-height hiking boots or rugged athletic shoes.
6. Camera
7. Light jacket

All of this fits nicely into a small day pack.

It's also very helpful to know where you are going. You can find a map of Mt. Diablo trails at http://www.mdia.org/PDF%20Files/MtDiabloBrochure.pdf. Print it out and take it with you on the trail. A map is also posted on a board at the park entries but it's better to have the map with you on the trail. Trail indicators are posted throughout the park to help guide your way as well. Heed the warnings on the signs. While it is rare you will see one, keep an eye out for rattle snakes. Snakes are cold-blooded and they will warm themselves on rocks and gravel roads in the morning sun.

I suspect the falls will dry up shortly, so get out there and take a look before they slow to a trickle and the weather gets too hot. It's definitely worth the trip. You can find more pictures of the hike here.

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Just three short months after my purchase the war is over and HD DVD technology is declared dead. Sony Blu-ray has won and I'm left with empty pockets, a feeling of defeat, and an embarrassing collection of HD DVD movies that says "I chose the wrong technology".

It's unfortunate so many consumers have to take the loss on this industry decision. The major retailers have declared they will no longer carry HD DVD movies leaving owners of HD DVD players empty handed. Amazon.com has cut prices on all movies in this format by 50%, but you won't find me buying any more HD DVD formatted movies no matter how cheap they become.

In addition, both Netflix and BlockBuster are discontinuing distribution of HD DVD formatted movies in their online rental services. I received an email notification from Netflix on February 11, 2008 stating the following:

We're Going Blu-ray

Dear <Member>,

You're receiving this email because you have asked to receive high-definition movies in the HD DVD format. As you may have heard, most of the major movie studios have recently decided to release their high-definition movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. In order to provide the best selection of high-definition titles for our members, we have decided to go exclusively with Blu-ray as well.

While we will continue to make our current selection of HD DVD titles available to you for the next several months, we will not be adding additional HD DVD titles or reordering replacements.

Toward the end of February, HD DVDs in your Saved Queue will automatically be changed to standard definition DVDs. Then toward the end of this year, all HD DVDs in your Queue will be changed to standard definition DVDs. Don't worry, we will contact you before this happens.

You can click here to change your format preferences.

We're sorry for any inconvenience.

-The Netflix Team

Imagine my disappointment. I just bought this thing damn player in December!

In the end, I am glad a single format has been selected for the consumer's sake. No more head scratching decisions while standing in front of a salesman at your local electronics store weighing the pros/cons of each individual format and gambling on which technology the "industry" will choose. I put my money on the underdog (unknowingly) and lost the bet. Now I am stuck with an HD DVD player which is only good for up-converting my old DVD's and playing the seven or eight HD DVD movies I already own. What a waste of money for a device that was supposed to be leading edge.

However, there's still an option. Seems LG will continue to support the HD DVD technology with its dual format players.

Technorati Tags: HD DVD, Blu-ray, Toshiba, LG

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It's a great time to buy right now with the surplus of foreclosed homes and low interest rates and I want to take advantage of that. But if I cannot sell my current home now for atleast what I paid for it I am going to be stuck here until the market turns around. That's a depressing thought considering that is at least 2 years out from now. Apparently, living in California has an upside if you haven't been to much of a credit criminal and refinanced your original mortgage. It's a scary concept but one that may make sense for some people.

The following excerpt is from an article on CNNMoney.com, the link to the full article follows:

California is a bit of a safe haven for these borrowers, since banks that repossess and then sell a foreclosed property for less than the mortgage that was owed on it cannot come after borrowers for the difference - as long as it's the initial mortgage, one that has not been refinanced. So if a borrower owes $200,000 and the bank sells the house for $170,000, the borrower comes out of it debt-free.

Full article: Troubled borrowers are walking away from their homes - Feb. 6, 2008

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http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3756665n

I figure this will carry out for another 2 years. Scary times.

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Download Advanced Linux Programming

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